From 'Normal People' to 'Girls', here are some suggestions of what to cue up next.
7 TV Shows to Watch after You’ve Binged 'Conversations with Friends'
From 'Normal People' to 'Girls', here are some suggestions of what to cue up next.
Praise be: the Conversations With Friends adaptation is here and it’s masterful, created by the same team who made Normal People and with as much care, realism and precision.
The cast, including Joe Alwyn, Jemima Kirke, Sasha Lane, and Alison Oliver, are all exquisite, and the vibe is perfect for right now–an easy watching 12 episode binge just like Normal People was, all about friendship, attraction, and what happens when the line between both becomes blurred.
Already burned through the season? Never fear. We have some suggestions for what to watch next.
1. Normal People
We might as well start at the beginning. If you’ve watched Conversations With Friends – and somehow didn’t come to it via the gateway drug of Normal People – then consider this your boarding call. Normal People shares a lot of DNA with Conversations: both are based on bestselling Sally Rooney novels, both are created and directed by Lenny Abrahamson, with scripts by Alice Birch, both are about 20-somethings in Dublin as they try to make sense of the world around them. But where Conversations has a wider focus, Normal People zeroes in on the relationship between just two people – Connell and Marianne – as they duck in and out of each other’s lives. The intimacy between this pair in this series remains so powerful, even some two years on from the show’s first release.
Where can I watch it? Prime Video
2. High Fidelity
If the dynamic between friends, particularly very, very close ones, was what drew you into Conversations, High Fidelity is all that and more. The series also has a focus on the romantic, meaning there’ll be plenty of relationship drama to keep you tuning in, but the real heart of High Fidelity – a Disney+ reboot of the original ‘90s film about a record store owner reeling from a breakup – is the relationship between Rob (Zoe Kravitz) and her best mates, working alongside her in their flailing record store. It’s a window into New York city life, into down-and-out in your 20s life, and into life as someone as chaotic and glamorous as Kravitz’s Rob. If that doesn’t sell you, know that no show has been better costumed than this in recent memory.
Where can I watch it? Disney+
3. Lovesick
Originally called Scrotal Recall – yes, really – the series later known as Lovesick follows Dylan, who is diagnosed with chlamydia and must inform all of his past sexual partners in order to ensure nobody passes it on. It’s funny, it’s silly, and it’s very, very sexy. An easy binge-watch for a weekend too, with hilarious – and short – episodes, it’s as enjoyable to churn through as Conversations is.
Where can I watch it? Netflix
4. Girls
Created by Lena Dunham and starring Conversations’ own Jemima Kirke, along with Zosia Mamet and Allison Williams, Girls is a tale of love, life and friendship between four 20-somethings in New York. Just like how Frances and Bobbi’s friendship in Conversations anchors the series’ action, so too does the relationship between Dunham’s Hannah Horvath and her pals in Girls. This series just hit its milestone 10 year anniversary, which means it’s as good a time as any to dive into a re-watch (pr even a first-time viewing!).
Where can I watch it? HBO
5. Modern Love
Modern Love could just as easily be another title for Conversations, given the contemporary nature of its relationships and story. If that’s what you found appealing – the series’ way of investigating what love means in a modern context – then Modern Love will be the next binge watch for you. Based on the New York Times column of the same name, in which love stories in all their forms are shared, this anthology series is touching and profound, with a cast that includes Anne Hathaway, Dev Patel, and Tina Fey.
Where can I watch it? Prime Video
6. Feel Good
Comedian Mae Martin is the creator of this sexy, messy, totally compelling television show about an addictive new relationship – which could be a description of Conversations, too. This series doesn’t shy away from big topics and questions, but it addresses them with stylish visual panache and a clever script, honed by Martin herself. There are two seasons of this show, giving a lot of breathing space to the series’ storylines, and which will make you wish Conversations could have a second season, too.
Where can I watch it? Netflix
7. Doctor Foster
This 2015 series is notable both for an early scene-stealing performance from Jodie Comer before she was cast in Killing Eve, and for a star-making turn from Suranne Jones as Gemma Foster, a woman who suspects her husband is having an affair. As Gemma begins to investigate her suspicions, her life begins to unravel. Affairs are one of the main themes of Conversations, as main characters wade through their feelings for one another both inside and outside of traditional relationships. Doctor Foster might have a darker take on affairs, but it’s just as fascinating and watchable.
Where can I watch it? Prime Video
